Nov 23 - Appropriate Technology
In India, the potentially huge market for solar energy is not being fully penetrated due to the lack of availability, affordability and reliability of renewables. To overcome the obstacles to widespread adoption, there is a need to reduce costs to enable the government to subsidise effectively, train people and provide easy access to finance. Under the leadership of Hemant Lamba, Aurore, a not-for-profit company based in Tamil Nadu, has done just this, and won the 30,000 enterprise award in the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy.
To achieve this, Aurore has acted as a networking agency between government,
banks, NGOs, manufacturers and end-users to provide financially viable products.
It has created successful prototypes which have accelerated the take-up of
renewables in urban and rural communities, and has provided reliable
installation and after-sales services. Perhaps most importantly, it has
developed a network of sustainable enterprises among economically deprived
communities including training at least 250 people in installation and
maintenance of solar photovoltaic systems.
"The synergy [created by Aurore] can create a widely dispersed group of
independent service enterprises which can be networked to make a lasting impact
in the field," says Dr. Gupta, Technical Director, Solar Agni
International. "An integrated service provider has been the key missing
link in delivery of sustainable energy so far"
Hemant's inspiration for the work has come from the belief that "there
are not only just good ecological and scientific reasons for doing it, there are
also deep spiritual reasons for changing our energy use. The founder of
Auroville, the Mother, pointed out that the present form of energy, which is
drawn from beneath the Earth, is not an elevated form of energy, and that the
future lies in drawing energy from above. This remains my guiding belief."
Aurore's projects to date include installing 1025 solar water pumps to
farmers in 11 Indian states, providing solar lanterns to street hawkers in
Chennai and co-ordinating a rural electrification project in Ladakh using 8700
solar home kits and 6000 lanterns.
Small and medium sized farming has become viable due to the installation of
solar pumps which means farmers don't have to rely on the notoriously black-out
prone state grid. It also means they are able to save 35,000 rupees annually
otherwise spent on diesel. The pumps are also easier to operate and require less
maintenance than the diesel pumps. Solar lighting has provided opportunities for
income generation, improved health and education and more than 250 Indian youths
have been trained as a result of Aurore's activities.
"We are saving 5 ltrs of Kerosene every month after taking a solar
lantern on rent," says Murugan, a hawker in Chennai
Solar panels power a rural cultural and drama centre near Pondicherry.
"People have a community life in the evening after installing solar
lights. Women at home have a better environment and children can study for
longer hours. seeing people happy with these relatively small comforts brings
joy to my heart, " says Ms. Dhariya, coordinator of Sajeevan the local
network partner of Aurore.
A network of NGOs and local service providers including Sahjeevan, SELCO
India and Sunmin, has been created with commitments from leading suppliers such
as Tata-BP, BHEL, Shell, AEP & Ritika to provide partnership services to the
network. This, combined with policy and funding support from Indian Ministry of
Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES), Indian Renewable Development Agency (IREDA)
and other funding agencies, means that Aurore is ready to take their next
stride.
Aurore will use the award money to expand its activities, re- engineer and
re-design products, promote local energy enterprises and continue to build NGO
capacities in service delivery skills.
For more information contact Mr Hemant Lamba, Aurore, Auroville, Tamil Nadu,
India. Fax: +91 413 2622 057; e-mail: aurore@aroville.org.in
Copyright Research Information Ltd. Sep 2004